A Brave World
by Paul Bowrain
Summary: Robert desires to be in Merida's world and it has become an obsession. 'Careful what you wish for' because that is exactly what happens to him and his sister Ruby. Transported to the dark ages, they are caught in a land and time which they believe is due to a huge mistake. However, SOMEONE else believes that they have a 'unique' part to play no matter how ghastly it may be.
1. Chapter 1-The Door at the Hill

At the end of this chapter, do let me know what you think. Criticisms and compliments are equally accepted. Hope you enjoy.

CH1:THE DOOR AT THE HILL

Mr & Mrs Bonham were absolutely delighted. You may wonder why so I will tell you. They were in Scotland!  
>They chose Scotland to celebrate their eighteenth wedding anniversary which was co-incidentally also the birthday of their son Robert. Yes, Mr &amp; Mrs Bonham have a child-two actually. Seventeen year old Robert Bonham and nine year old Ruby Bonham.<br>The Bonhams were indeed delighted to be in Scotland but the one who was looking forward to it the most was Robert. Excited would be an understatement. Thrilled would somewhat describe how he felt.  
>And thrilled he was, for he had a deep crush on a girl who lived here. Strange thing was that this girl did not exist. Yes, she was a fictional character...and her name was Merida!<p>

Robert did not like Merida because she was beautiful. That came later. It was her character and personality that won his heart even though she did not exist, he was drawn towards this girl in-spite of her faults, because her strengths were stronger than her weaknesses. And so,his obsession for her was one reason why he was single.  
>Robert himself was quite good-looking with his dark wavy hair, shapely face, decently tall frame and a smile that girls found 'super cute'. Many girls had tried to get a date with him. Only problem was that Robert found himself comparing them all to Merida and of course, none of them could quite come up to his expectation. He knew he was being rather stupid and was also told by others many times to accept Merida's in-existence. However, it still did not stop him researching Scotland on the net.<br>And it was Beautiful!  
>The highlands, the hills, the sun, the streams, the villages, the countryside, the accent...oh, how he loved them all.<br>So when it was announced that he was going to Scotland, Robert hardly noticed his new IPhone6 that his Uncle gifted to him for his birthday.

"Mom",a grinning Robert spoke,"This place is beeeeeeeeeeautiful."  
>"Just like the last girl you rejected?",Ruby, his sister interjected with a smirk.<br>"She was really prissy, and she did not even know the difference between Japan and China", Robert replied back without even blinking.  
>One thing Robert had learnt about talking with Ruby was that you should never look concerned, no matter what she said and you would win the conversation with just a single reply. But putting her teasing habit aside, Ruby was also Robert's best friend and they understood each other so much that if one of them lied to the other, she would definitely know that s/he was being lied to.  
>"Yeah, yeah. Whatever", Ruby rolled her eyes and smiled at Robert. Robert smiled back.<br>Since the Bonham family had arrived pretty late in the afternoon (5:03pm to be exact), they decided to just reach their hotel, get refreshed,and the rest the remainder of the day-except Robert and Ruby.  
>There was a small hill right behind the hotel. A forest park was situated here so the brother and sister duo decided to take a quick evening stroll.<br>The sun was starting its descent behind some hills and the sky was a rich orange hueas Robert & Ruby reached the park. A path led into it. The park was really a small forest and there were trees all around them once they were inside. The pair strolled around for a while until Ruby decided to rest on a bench nearby. Robert too sat down beside her.  
>"You know,sis, this forest really reminds me of the one from Brave", he said to his sister,while putting an arm around her at the same time ,"The one where she meets a wisp for the first time. I remember it was her birthday too, just like mine."<br>The thought seemed to please him and he smiled. Ruby knew about her brother's love for 'Brave' and Merida (obviously) and giggled. And it was here that Robert made a wish out of a deep desire which would change his and his sister's life forever. His wish was…  
>"I wish I could go into Merida's world , and even meet her.", he spoke dreamily.<br>At this, he heard Ruby gasp beside him.  
>"What?",Robert rolled his eyes and faced his sister ,"It's just a little wi-"<br>But he stopped, because he saw what had ACTUALLY made her gasp.  
>What seemed like a blue flame of fire was floating several feet away, making strange whispering sounds. Surprisingly, It seemed to be out calling out at them with tiny hands. But these couldn't be fire. They also seemed so liquid and gaseous and wispy…<br>"A wisp", Robert whispered excitedly.  
>Without even realizing it, he started walking towards the mystical creature, cautiously. Ruby caught hold of her brother's arm and walked alongside him. At about arm's length away, the wisp disappeared and re-appeared a few feet away. Five more of them appeared in a line behind the first one, leading into the deepest part of the forest. Robert dropped his arm and started walking after it briskly, after saying something ("Don't be afraid") to Ruby.<br>Eventually, the last of the wisps disappeared revealing a door. Now, let it be known, this door was strange. It had a knocker on it and Robert, who was 5'7" would have to bend over to get through it. Also, the door did not seem to lead into a house. Instead, it was set on a hill.  
>"Dada", Ruby spoke for the first time in a long while. 'Dada' is what Ruby called her elder brother. She preferred this cute nick name rather than the calling him by his actual name.<br>"What do you think is in there?", she asked.  
>"I don't know", Robert looked hard ,"But i think we are meant to find out."<br>So, without a second thought, he reached out to the knocker and knocked hard. Instead of a reply, the door just opened all by itself.  
>The insides were literally empty except for a few wooden stools here and there. Robert was about to walk inside when he remembered his sister. Turning towards her, he asked ,"Are you scared?"<br>He knew this was a lame question. Ruby was hardly ever scared of anything and was very feisty. And even before she opened her mouth, he knew what she was gonna say.  
>"I am scared of idiots, not dark rooms", she said with a grin. She was a bit nervous, yea, but curiosity got the better of her. Hence, she had to screw up her face a bit.<br>And therefore, with that, brother and sister walked through the open door hand in hand.  
>No sooner had they stopped inside, than the door snapped shut behind them, creating a complete and eerie darkness.<br>Ruby screamed.  
>Robert suddenly felt his heart beat faster and louder than a raging horse.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2- A New World

CH2: A NEW WORLD

Robert did the only thing logical. He turned around to pull the door open. Then, he realized something was amiss.

"There is no door-knob",Robert spoke quick, his heart beating even faster.

At this, Ruby stopped panicking. Robert heard his sister taking deep breaths. Half-a-minute later, she spoke, her voice trembling dreadfully.

"What do we do now, dada?"

Robert pulled his sister closer and was about to give her words of re-assurance when a loud voice resounded the whole room. Before we get to what was said, you will want to know that the voice was that of a woman and it was very high-pitched. And here is what was said

"Oh, my dearies, don't be afraid.

Calm your heart and keep your head.

You will need something from the floor.

Show it what it hates and you will open the door."

Suddenly, a burst of bright yellow light flooded into the room. It took a while for Robert and Ruby to adjust their eyes to it. The light, they realized, was sunlight pouring in from a nearby window. They rushed to it but was disappointed to find that it was closed shut and impossible to open.

"Something from the floor",Ruby was the first to repeat the bodiless voice while looking around the floor.

"Show it what it hates",Robert joined her,"What does a door hate?"

The floor was littered with nothing but odd assortments of furnitures.

"Doors can't hate other furnitures,right?",Robert thought aloud.

"The door is made up of wood",Ruby pointed out,"Maybe it hates fire."

"We don't have that", Robert replied,"Maybe something more-AHA!"

Robert reached down and picked up a small saw with shining metal.  
>"A door made of wood hates a saw,right? I mean they are used for cutting down trees and pieces of wood.",Robert turned to face his sister.<p>

"Well, that's all we have right now. It is worth a shot and i want to get away from this place. It's starting to spook me",Ruby shuddered as she said this.

So,Robert walked towards the door, the saw held out in front of him. He was quite uncertain as to how the tool in his hand could be used to open a door. Maybe he had to hack away at it...or maybe he had to pry it open. These thoughts bothered him when something happened. Something strange.

AS he was getting close, the door vibrated vigorously and opened all by itself.

Sunlight poured in. Glorious sunlight. Grabbing Ruby by the hand, Robert rushed towards the open door. However, once outside, both of them stopped abruptly. Something was very wrong.

Firstly, the sun was bright and everything around them could be seen. Robert was pretty sure that it had been around dusk when they had entered through the door. But now, it seemed to be late morning. They could see all the trees around them.

Secondly, the trees were different. True, they were not experts in a forest they had just entered but it did not need an expert to know that there had been several trees near the door. Now, a neat clearing had replaced them.

For the second time in five minutes, Robert had no idea what was going on and even less as to what he was supposed to do. And for the second time, he heard the door snap shut behind them. Both brother and sister turned around expecting to see a closed door set against the hill. However, they were in for a shock, as they did not see any doors. In its place there were now thick trees and shrubs.

So, feeling confused they turned in front to see another baffling sight. The clearing before them had disappeared. It was now replaced by something even more breath-taking. About a dozen large and slender rocks stood upright horizontally, forming a large circle. These rocks were of various sizes but were all taller than an averagely tall man. They were all set about two feet apart.

Robert knew this place. He had never been here before but had seen them many times in a movie. What Ruby said next confirmed that she had recognized the place too.

"Dada, this looks like that ring of stones from 'Brave' ", she seemed excited but realized their dilemma," But this is not that forest park near our hotel. How did we get here? This place is supposed to be fictional. Oh God, this is so freaky," she shivered.

I know, sis. Everything's that happened today is all strange. Let us look around, we might find a signboard somewhere. C'mon."

And if they were looking for a sign, they got one, which was somewhat not what they were expecting, for it was another wisp.

The wisp was there, right on the other side of the ring of stones. This time, it wasn't Robert who led. Ruby walked ahead and after a few steps turned back.

"Let's go, dada", she motioned at him."Before it disappears."

Robert nodded and started walking as well. The crossed the ring and just when they were at arm's length, the wisp vanished. Immediately( just as before), half a dozen of them appeared appeared some feet away. Robert and Ruby followed the wisps at a brisk pace and they eventually led the siblings to a man made path. Three wisps led them along it. When they followed it, the wisps started to disappear one by one. The two had no choice now to but to go down the path. They walked down it for quite a while and all the time, brother and sister couldn't help but notice the utmost beauty that surrounded them. The trees made the path look like a cavern and but it was not scary at all. There were beautiful purple flowers all along the pathway(Which they later learned to be a Thistle plant). Even the green of the forest was beautiful and Robert could have sworn that he saw scenes like this only in pictures, but this was even better.

Robert was appreciating the beauty around them when it happened. An arrow whizzed past Robert's left ear. He felt its wind and realized how close the arrow had been. Ruby shouted out in surprise but calmed down immediately. Both of them looked around for the person responsible.

And the person did appear. This shooter was riding a huge magnificent black horse with white hair. She ( Robert realized it was a 'she') wore a black cloak with a hood, which she used to cover most of her face. However, the hood did nothing to hide her abundant curly hair which was hypotizingly rich red in colour. She wore a dark blue gown. In the form of accesories, she carried a bow with her left hand. Her right held the reins. A leather belt held a quiver full of arrows at the right side of her waist.

Robert did not need to look twice to realize who this 'stranger' was. He did not need the nudging of her sister either. Even before she removed her hood and revealed her fair face, he knew. One would expect him to say something but he was too awestruck, wide-eyed, jaw-dropped, astounded, charmed and heart-stopped by her sight.

It was Merida!


End file.
